February 24, 2007

Presented by Film Independent, this is a celebration honoring the true independent spirit of filmmaking. Held live on the Santa Monica Beach, the Independent Spirit Awards are a precursor to the Academy Awards on February 25, 2007. Last year, we saw Paul Haggis and CRASH walk away with both the Spirit Award and Oscar gold. Who will take home the prize in 2007? My early prediction for the 2007 Independent Spirit Award for Best Feature: LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE.

And the nominees are:

Best Feature:

• "American Gun"
  "The Dead Girl"
  "Half Nelson"
  "Little Miss Sunshine"
  "Pan's Labyrinth"

• Best Director:

• Robert Altman, "A Prairie Home Companion"
  Jonathan Dayton, Valerie Faris, "Little Miss Sunshine"
  Ryan Fleck, "Half Nelson"
  Karen Moncrieff, "The Dead Girl"
  Steven Soderbergh, "Bubble"

• Best First Feature:

• "Day Night Day Night"
  "Man Push Cart"
  "The Motel"
  "Sweet Land"
  "Wristcutters: A Love Story"

• Best Documentary:

• "A Lion in the House"
  "My Country, My Country"
  "The Road to Guantanamo"
  "The Trials of Darryl Hunt"
  "You're Gonna Miss Me"

• Best Foreign Film:

• "12:08 East of Bucharest"
  "The Blossoming of Maximo Oliveros"
  "Chronicle of an Escape"
  "Days of Glory"
  "The Lives of Others"

• Best Female Lead:

• Shareeka Epps, "Half Nelson"
  Catherine O'Hara, "For Your Consideration"
  Elizabeth Reaser, "Sweet Land"
  Michelle Williams, "Land of Plenty"
  Robin Wright Penn, "Sorry, Haters"

• Best Male Lead:

• Aaron Eckhart, "Thank You For Smoking"
  Ryan Gosling, "Half Nelson"
  Edward Norton, "The Painted Veil"
  Ahmad Razvi, "Man Push Cart"
  Forest Whitaker, "American Gun"

• Best Supporting Female:

• Melonie Diaz, "A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints"
  Marcia Gay Harden, "American Gun"
  Mary Beth Hurt, "The Dead Girl"
  Frances McDormand, "Friends With Money"
  Amber Tamblyn, "Stephanie Daley"

• Best Supporting Male:

• Alan Arkin, "Little Miss Sunshine"
  Raymond J. Barry, "Steel City"
  Daniel Craig, "Infamous"
  Paul Dano, "Little Miss Sunshine"
  Channing Tatum, "A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints"

• Best Screenplay:

• Neil Burger, "The Illusionist"
  Nicole Holofcener, "Friends with Money"
  Ron Nyswaner, "The Painted Veil"
  Jason Reitman, "Thank You For Smoking"
  Jeff Stanzler, "Sorry, Haters"

• Best First Screenplay:

• Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck, "Half Nelson"
  Michael Arndt, "Little Miss Sunshine"
  Goran Dukic, "Wristcutters: A Love Story"
  Dito Montiel, "A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints"
  Gabrielle Zevin, "Conversations with Other Women"

• Best Cinematography:

• Arin Crumley, "Four Eyed Monsters"
  Anthony Dod Mantle, "Brothers of the Head"
  Guillermo Navarro, "Pan's Labyrinth"
  Aaron Platt, "Wild Tigers I Have Known"
  Michael Simmonds, "Man Push Cart"

• Someone to Watch Award:

• So Yong Kim, "In Between Days"
  Julia Loktev, "Day Night Day Night"
  Richard Wong, "Colma: The Musical"

• John Cassavetes Award:

• "Chalk"
  "Four Eyed Monsters"
  "Old Joy"
  "Quinceañera"
  "Twelve and Holding"

• Truer Than Fiction Award:

• AJ Schnack, "Kurt Cobain: About a Son"
  Adele Horne, "The Tailenders"
  Eric Daniel Metzgar, "The Chances of the World Changing"

• Special Distinction:

• David Lynch, Laura Dern, "Inland Empire"

• The 2007 Independent Spirit Awards will be broadcast live in IFC on February 24th.